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VIDEO from KSDK-TV St. Louis, Missouri News Channel 5
The whistle blower said, "We had to take the chairs off and that's when everybody saw mice running around on the floor and one ran down one of the mechanic's arm."
The plane arrived in Missouri April 30.
The whistle blower explained, "There's feces all along this edge right here. It's throughout the whole aircraft."
The whistle blower said workers found nests in air vents and dead mice in emergency oxygen masks. When mice would get hungry, they ate insulation and chewed through wires.
"If they shorted themselves and caused a fire, it would go through that cabin so fast, we could have lost some lives," said the whistle blower.
The whistle blower said, "Anywhere from 900 to 1,000 (mice) could be on this aircraft."
That's the estimate exterminators gave workers but American Airlines disputes that number. In a written statement the airline admits to finding only 17 live mice.
Mel Burkhardt has been an aviation expert for more than 30 years. He's a retired pilot and current crash scene investigator.
He said mice on airplanes "involves a very severe hazard to the safety of the airplane and the people on board."
KSDK.com St. Louis, MO
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